U.N. wants swift response from Iran on fuel proposal

By Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei on Monday urged Iran to respond quickly to his nuclear fuel proposal while warning the world against using force.

"I therefore urge Iran to be as forthcoming as possible in responding soon to my recent proposal based on the initiative of the United States, Russia and France which aimed to engage Iran in a series of measures that could build confidence and trust," ElBaradei told the U.N. General Assembly.

Such measures, he said, could lead to a substantive dialogue between Iran and the international community.

The IAEA proposal calls for Iran to transfer about 75 percent of its known 1.5 metric tons of low-enriched uranium to Russia for further enrichment by the end of this year, then to France for conversion into fuel plates for a Tehran reactor that produces radio isotopes for cancer treatment.

Iran has not responded formally, though Western diplomats said Tehran has asked to be provided with fresh nuclear fuel before it considers sending its uranium stocks abroad. That demand, the diplomats said, is unacceptable.

Iran's U.N. Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee did not mention the fuel proposal in his speech to the 192-nation assembly, which was meeting to discuss the annual report of the Vienna-based U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Instead, Khazaee called Israel's presumed nuclear weapons program "the most serious threat to the regional as well as international peace and security." Israel has never confirmed or denied possessing nuclear weapons.

ELBARADEI: FORCE ONLY AS LAST RESORT

Iran rejects Western allegations it is secretly developing nuclear weapons and has ignored U.N. Security Council demands to suspend enrichment, saying its program aims to peacefully generate electricity.

ElBaradei also urged the Iranians to respond to outstanding IAEA questions about their past nuclear activities. Tehran says this demand is based on false Western accusations about alleged Iranian research into building an atomic warhead.

The IAEA director-general warned other countries not to "jump the gun" or be swayed by politics, urging them to allow the IAEA to conduct its inspections thoroughly and properly.

Apparently referring to intelligence mistakes made in pre-war Iraq, ElBaradei said, "We need to assess the veracity of intelligence information."

He added: "Force should never be used unless every other option has been exhausted, and only then within the bounds of international law ... All of these lessons are applicable today in the case of Iran."

Former U.S. President George W. Bush accused Iraq of reviving its nuclear weapons program but this was later proven to be untrue and partially based on forged documents.

The United States and Israel have not ruled out using force to deal with Iran's nuclear program.

(Editing by Alan Elsner)